Teen takes love of dogs to the next level

Plenty of teens love their dogs. Few devote as much time and energy to them as 17-year-old Sarah Rivkin.

The Owen J. Roberts High School senior is currently raising her second Seeing Eye guide dog, while also competing regularly in dog shows with her two standard poodles that she grooms and trains herself. And she fits it all in between school, homework and assisting with the family dog grooming business.

But then, training dogs just seems to come naturally to this East Vincent Township teen, who is the daughter of Saul Rivkin and Linda Fulton-Rivkin, owner of Fulton’s Professional Dog Grooming.

Dogs have been an important part of her life for as long as she can remember. Despite that, Rivkin’s path to competitive dog shows was one she traveled on her own, with the company of her poodles, of course. Training dogs wasn’t part of her mom’s business, and while the family sometimes attended dog shows, they never considered competing in them.

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But by the time Rivkin was in middle school, she was so drawn to dogs that she knew she wanted to pursue a career that kept her squarely in the company of canines. In fact, she was so certain that this was her destiny that she set about exploring different career options. That meant not only researching different fields, but testing them out.

“I wanted to find my niche in the field of dogs and dog training,” Rivkin recalled. “I wanted to try all different fields.”

In considering the possibility of training guide dogs, she quickly discovered The Seeing Eye, Inc., the oldest existing guide dog school in the world, located a short distance away in Morristown, N.J. The school relies on volunteers to raise the puppies that will eventually become Seeing Eye dogs. Rivkin was delighted to learn that they allow children as young as nine to sign on as primary puppy raisers.

“I was really excited,” she said, remembering the day she added her name to the long waiting list of puppy raising hopefuls. She was only 14.

The waiting was definitely the hardest part. She spent seven months preparing for her puppy, during which time she attended monthly meetings of a local Seeing Eye chapter to learn more about the training process. The wait proved worthwhile when the puppy was finally delivered to her home.

“I was like a little kid on Christmas morning. The van pulled up and they pulled out this precious little puppy. It was one of the best moments,” Rivkin recalled.

Her first dog, a black Labrador Retriever named Neptune, stayed with her for 15 months. During that time she took full responsibility for training him, even taking him to school periodically.

It was a bittersweet day when she parted with Neptune, but by then she’d already signed up for a second dog, Archie, a golden retriever mix who she’s had for nearly a year.

“I love the (Seeing Eye) program and I love the dogs,” said Rivkin. “I’ve fallen head over heels for their dogs. They are really special.”

During the time she was raising Neptune, she also found time to pamper her pet standard poodle Willow. She enjoyed teaching tricks to Willow, who proved an able learner.“I noticed that she had a desire to learn. She was willing to do any new trick I wanted to teach her, and she learned so quickly. I taught her how to play dead in 10 minutes,” Rivkin recalled.

One day, while watching TV, Rivkin came across a show on canine agility competitions.

“It got me hooked,” she said.

Agility competitions involve an obstacle course that requires dogs guided by trainers to jump over hurdles, crawl through tunnels, walk up ramps and other tasks. Dogs are judged on time and accuracy.

Rivkin knew Willow could be trained for agility, and so, while still only a high school freshman, she signed up for her first competition. Both she and Willow enjoyed the experience, and for the past four years, they’ve competed at a number of different shows.

Two years ago, Rivkin decided one standard poodle wasn’t enough, even if she was raising a Seeing Eye guide dog. Since Willow wasn’t really bred for agility, Rivkin sought a dog with better breeding. She found a well-reputed breeder in Garnet Valley who introduced her to an adorable puppy named Lacey.

“The breeder suggested she would be a nice show dog,” Rivkin said. “I figured I’m a kid, I might as well try it now and not wait.”

While Willow was strictly an agility dog, Rivkin decided to enter Lacey into dog shows. She prepared for this by watching training videos and taking a few dog obedience classes.

When she felt ready, Rivkin began participating in junior showmanship competitions, where she is judged with other young participants, on how well Lacey is groomed.

She also competes with Lacey in breed conformation, in which a dog is judged based on its physical appearance and how well it conforms to its breed type. “I used to go to shows with my family for fun. I loved watching them. When I started getting into it, it was just so amazing to be part of it,” she said.

These days, Rivkin’s not simply experimenting with competitions any more. She aims to win them.

In order to keep Lacey and Willow primed for competition, Rivkin must dedicate much of her spare time to grooming and training the dogs. She spends about two hours a week grooming each dog, and, before a show, she must devote about five hours to washing, whitening, conditioning, drying and hand brushing her dog

“My goal is to have Lacey a champion by the end of the year,” she said. “Standard poodles are one of the most competitive breeds you can show. But I think it will make the achievement (of winning) sweeter because I worked so much harder for it.”